Long Live the Reckless and the Brave

"Shh," I chuckled, watching my bandmates try to perfectly place a bow on the gift we'd just put together for our children. Okay, mostly it was our idea and Matt put the finishing touches on it, but still. It was the thought that counts. "They're going to be out here in like, two minutes."

"Done," Jack squeaked, giving Zack a high-five. "Do you think they'll like it?"

"They better, because I fully intend to use the free space in my garage for myself now."

I laughed, watching Matt beam at the work he'd put into our gift. It was already a little past nine and the kids had decided to meet at our house so the girls could get ready together and Tom could run through the details again. It was New Year's Eve, so of course Juli had decided that all the parents needed to go on this little trip to see our kids play their first gig. That being said, she'd already hired a sitter for Noelle and Liam. I felt a little bad for leaving our youngest kids alone tonight, because usually they liked to stay up and watch the ball drop, but even I had to admit it'd be nice to go out and spend the night with my friends.

"Stella, Aubree," Tom groaned, opening the front door with Jack and Nate trailing behind him. "We're going to be late. I promise, you look fine!"

We got nervous as our kids started to step out of the house. Juli flicked the front porch light on and all the kids looked in our direction. Their eyes lit up almost instantly.

"Is- Is that... ?"

"Oh my gosh, it is!" Stella pushed past all of her friends and ran straight to the van sitting on the curb. "This is the van you used to tour in, isn't it, dad?!"

"Yes, princess," I beamed. "Uncle Matt kept it, so we figured it was time to pass it down."

"Hire a crew!" Tom shouted from the doorway, gleaming. "We need to hire a crew. Dad, can you guys help us carry everything out?"

I nodded, leaving the girls to look at the van by themselves. After a few loads, we managed to pack up everything the kids would need for their show and now we had to figure out who was going where. The kids, as excited as they were, were already seated in the back of the van, laughing and bonding just like All Time Low had done back in the day. I laughed to myself, turning my attention back to the rest of the parents, finally agreeing that Jack and I would drive the van. Rian had agreed to drive our wives- Cass, Jamsin and Julie, while Zack was going to take Matt in his car.

Not long after we pulled out, the kids were already snapping picutre of each other and talking loudly. I glanced to Jack who was tapping his fingers on the dash.

"It's been so long since I've been in here," he mumbled. "Makes me miss the old days."

"We'll live through our kids," I snorted, knowing perfectly well they weren't even listening to us. "Let's just hope Jack is a better driver than you. He's the only one old enough to drive right now."

"He is," Jack grinned. "I promise."

Time seemed to run circles around us, and before I knew it, we had arrived at the Ottobar. As soon as I parked the van, the kids jumped out, Tom went straight inside to talk to the manager of the club. I was beyond proud of him in that moment. I knew my son had talent, but I never really got to see him go to work. In a matter of seconds, Matt was jumping out of Zack's car and running after Tom. It really baffled me how close the two of them had become, but I could think of no better manager to serve as a role model to my son.

Tom appeared at the door again and yelled for us to start bringing everything in. Needless to say, all the kids and adults went straight for the trailer. It took us a while to get everything in and on the stage, with a few people who were already at the venue getting in our way. Once we were done, we left the kids to finish everything and do their soundcheck. I wanted to help them, but I didn't want to stand in the way. Instead, I went to the bar with my friends and took a hard look around the place. It had definitely changed since I last played here, but the stage still held the same memories. I grinned to myself, ordering a beer for myself and a mixed drink for Juli.

As time dragged on, more and more people started to show up. Some were here to celebrate the New Year, but some were here for the kids. Even I had to admit I was uncomfortable with the amount of adults that were lingering by the bar, but when I did a headcount of the minors, I could only hope that said adults were here for their kids. It was New Year's afterall.

11:15. Time for the kids to go on. I could see Tom standing on the side of the stage, hurrying the band so that they'd take their places. Honestly, I was nervous for him. The kids had over half an hour to play, but I knew they probably didn't have enough prepared to take up that much time. I could only hope they planned for the worst as well. All the parents grabbed their beers (the girls witih the cameras) and moved to the crowd. There weren't that many people here, but considering this was their first gig, it was a pretty big turnout. I inhaled deeply and watched my daughter walk up to the front of the stage, guitar slung over her shoulder as her fingers slowly gripped the mic. She was nervous. I was expecting her to introduce the band so the crowd could get a feel for them, but she didn't. Instead, Little Jack started to play, Aubree started banging the drums, and Nate chimed in. I smiled, they sounded really good.

Stella's voice boomed through the venue, my heart breaking with every word. She was so talented, her voice was so beautiful, and it mixed in perfectly with the beat the band had created. Her lyrics seemed to catch on, because the kids in the crowd started to sway and jump, really getting into it. Stella loosened up a little, walking around with the mic so she could lean down to the crowd and touch their hands. They were going crazy. Once the song ended, she walked back over to where she'd been before the show started and pushed her hair out of her face.

"What's up, guys?!" The crowd cheered, making the band laugh. "So, we're a band from right here in Baltimore. We're the kids from a well-known band called All Time Low," this time, the parents cheered more than the kids. I laughed to myself. "Our band is called Serenading Sirens. Much like our father's did, we got our name from a song. Not just any song, though, a song our dad's sung way back in the day. This is it!"

I could hear the guys cheering as the band started to play one of our old songs. Even I couldn't resist, I was singing to the top of my lungs with my daughter, who absolutely owned the song. By the time that one ended, Jack took over the mic. He was so much like his father.

"All right, bitches," he grinned, earning a disapproving look from Jasmin. "Can we get a hand for our talented lead singer, Stella Gaskarth?" The crowd did exactly as he asked, and I could see even from where I was standing that girls were falling over themselves trying to get to Jack. I could only hope that would never cause problems for my daughter. "I love this girl, and this next song, she put a lot of herself into. Now, when we get to the chorus, we could use your help. Repeat after me: Whoa, oh, oh, oh, yeah!"

The crowd screamed the words back at Jack, mocking the sound of his voice. I chuckled to myself, thinking of how many times I'd done that.

"Good. Now let's try it again. Together, ready? Whoa, oh, oh, oh, yeah!"

Stella was beyond excited to hear the crowd singing along to her song. She pulled her guitar in front of her and start strum.

"I think you guys got it," Jack threw his arm in the air. "Let's do this!"

Aubree counted them in on the drums, and in not time, the song took off. Whenever the chorus came around, the kids would sing it to the top of their lungs. I was almost sad when the song had to end. Stella was out of breath, so she took a moment to take a drink from her water, while Jack and Nate opened their own and threw it on the kids in the crowd. God, they were so much like us.

"Now this next song," Stella spoke, staring out at the crowd. "Is another song our dad's wrote. It's called For Baltimore, and I want to hear you sing!"

And they did. I didn't know how the kids in the crowd knew that song, but they sang right along with Stella, and so did some of the adults by the bar. By the time that song came to a close, the crowd was beyond pumped, screaming for Jack and trying to get Nate to talk to them. The band spoke to the crowd a little more, took a few minutes to thank them all for coming out, and telling them of their hopes to start playing more shows. They even mentioned creating a website so their new fans could keep up with them. When all was said and done, they began playing Damnit, and I found myself hopping around in the crowd like a teenager. My friends were right beside me.

"We're Serenading Sirens," Stella screamed, happiness shining in her eyes. "Happy freakin' New Year!"

As if on cue, the lights started to flash around the venue and confetti dropped from the ceiling. It was midnight, officially the New Year. I stared at my kids long enough to see them jump from the stage and into the crowd before I turned on my heel to pull Juli into my arms and kiss her with force.

"Happy New Year," I breathed against her lilps. "Best one we've had so far."

"Absolutely," Juli grinned. "Happy New Year, Alex."

Notes